A GOOD AGE: 'An 'independent' Ida Freedman of Randolph turns 104 on Patriots Day

Tuesday

Apr 15, 2014 at 12:51 AMMay 31, 2014 at 10:03 PM

Ida Freedman of Randolph, who turns 104 on April 19, lives in her own apartment, walks every day, follows the news, goes to her high school reunions, fixes meals and teaches Jewish cooking to her aides, who assist her with shopping and showers.

Sue Scheible The Patriot Ledger @sues_ledger

RANDOLPH - ‘Ida, you’re a miracle,” Annette, the homemaker, proclaims. “Run with it. Enjoy it!” She has just arrived at Ida Freedman’s apartment and is about to gather the laundry.

Freedman sits on her favorite couch in a pretty plaid top, her white hair neatly done, her nails bright red, her earrings dangling. She looks doubtful. Not about the “miracle” – she is, after all, nearly 104 and still, as she puts it, “very independent, very active.”

No, it’s the reporter showing up unexpectedly who has stirred her skepticism. “I’ve never wanted publicity, to be a celebrity,” she says.

Freedman turns 104 on April 19, traditional Patriots Day, and its theme of independence seems a perfect fit. She lives in her own apartment, walks every day, follows the news, goes to her high school reunions, always votes (“That was a big thing with my father”) fixes her meals and teaches Jewish cooking to Annette. Other aides help with shopping and showers.

When I called on the lobby phone, the door buzzer didn’t work. “Want me to come down?” she asked and moments later, stepped off the elevator. She’s tiny, about 4 feet 8 inches, with a strong voice and warm smile. Later, we’ll venture out for her daily 15-minute walk and she’ll use her walker, but now, solo, steady as she comes.

I heard about Freedman from one of her admirers, who said, “She is amazing. She has all her faculties, used to watch the marathon in Coolidge Corner and is very pleasant.”

In her apartment, family photos line a wall: her parents; sisters; son, Carl, 60, and nieces.

“You’d be surprised at how time goes by at this age . . . so fast,” she says. “Years back, I can remember that like it was yesterday. Ask me what happened 15 minutes ago . . .” A mischievous smile forms as she continues, “A reporter from the Patriot Ledger showed up and was bothering me!”

I have met other 104-year-olds, but none like this, living in their own home, without any family members, so self-reliant. I ask the secret of her longevity.

“It’s easy,” she says. “I was always independent. I always had to take care of myself and take care of my family. When you have to, you learn how to do it. Otherwise, you fall apart.

“And I love walking. I go out every day and walk up and down. I’d love to walk the mall but my son won’t hear of it.”

She moved here 25 years ago, from Brookline and it still suits her. She has her favorite morning game shows on TV, reads the paper. The home care aides come several days a week. A niece drives her to medical appointments, or she’ll call a cab.

Freedman was born in Boston in 1910, one of nine children, six girls and three boys. She graduated in 1927 from Girls High School in the South End and still goes to the reunions.

Last year, what a fuss they made over their oldest graduate. “You should see the pictures clacking, clacking, and they all wanted to be in the photo with me so they could say how old I was.”

The W.T. Grant Co. opened a store in downtown Boston and she worked there for 25 years, becoming a department head and then a buyer. She lived with two sisters and her son in Brookline; after both sisters died, she came to Randolph.

Most of her friends are gone, but she still knows a few neighbors and she has her aides, her resources and her memories. She loves talking about those early years, her close family, how smart her father was, and especially her mother’s cooking. “Such a wonderful baker. Oh, those knishes! Aaaah, we couldn’t wait for it to get out of the oven!” And all the delis in Coolidge Corner, smoked fish, lox, cream cheese. “I loved that stuff!” “She taught me how to make matzah ball soup, potato pancakes, and they were delicious,” Annette says.

“Whatever I’m doing, I try to do it right,” Freedman says later. “I’m not a perfect person, but I’m comfortable wherever I am.”

Reach Sue Scheible at scheible@ledger.com, 617-786-7044, or The Patriot Ledger, P.O. Box 699159, Quincy 02269-9159. Read her Good Age blog on our website. Follow her on Twitter @ sues_ledger.